Ghosts And Kisses Remind Me How I Miss Us
by LostInFairytale
Summary: A collection of short one-shots from within the Infernal Devices. Some AU stories in later chapters, enjoy!
1. Raining In My Heart

_"Do me a favour, and tell me how you feel about me." - Dream, Miley Cyrus.  
_

* * *

The small tinkling of rain was the only sound in the vast dining hall. Tessa couldn't decide what part she hated most about dinner; the extraordinary silence that befell each person as they sat at the mournful table, or the ridiculous small talk she would be expected to perform.

It had been two weeks since the rooftop, two weeks since she and Will had so much as exchanged a glance. Her own eyes were trained on her empty plate, waiting patiently for Agatha to prepare the food and Sophie to serve it.

A small sigh was heard from the top of the table and Tessa closed her eyes, knowing that in a matter of seconds Charlotte would go around the table and ask them each how their day had been. As though in complete tune with her own thoughts, Will leaned back in his seat and frowned to himself.  
Not that she was looking.

"It rained today, most unpleasant rain. Did I ever tell you all the time Henry and I got stuck out in the rain once?" Charlotte's loud voice dominated the silence, saying that she wasn't having yet another awkward dinner with her family.

"Yes." Droned out Will, Jem and Jessamine in perfect synchronization.

Charlotte frowned, "Well that's fine, Tessa hasn't heard it."

Before Charlotte could begin to tell what would have probably been a fascinating tale of her and Henry's adventures in the great outdoors, Will said "Be that as it may, perhaps you should spare the rest of us the pain of having to listen to how you and that buffoon happened to get lost twenty minutes from your home, yet again."

His cruel sarcasm knocked everyone back into their silence, only Jessamine seemed to be unaffected by the dark atmosphere that surrounded the rest of the London Institute dwellers. Soon dinner was brought out and the silence became comfortable. When everything had been eaten, and all the plates had been cleared, Charlotte said her goodnight and she and Henry left the table. Once they had departed Jessamine smirked broadly, "Well that was entertaining."

"Hold your tongue Jessamine" Jem said sternly, "One should not comment on matters one does not understand."  
And with that he rose and took his leave. With a shrug of her shoulders Jessamine stood also and looked at Tessa, "You may walk me to my room, I know you go to the library after dinner and it's pointless I should walk alone when my room is so close."

Tessa nodded quickly and followed out after Jessamine, leaving Will to sit alone in the now deserted dining hall.

"Delightful" he murmured when the door closed and he was left to listen to the soft pattering of rain on the dark window. Sitting there in the dark lit room, slouched in his chair with his drink held lazily in his hand he mulled over his options.

He could go to his room, head to bed and read for some time. The thought did not please him. He could go speak with Jem, but Jem seemed angry about something and he had a good notion that he had caused it. That left only one option. A dark grin spread across his lips as he rose from his seat, downing the last of his wine he left the lonely dining hall and his glass behind.

Walking around the institute at night was always pleasant for Will, the halls were stone and he was greeted by the soft sound of his shoes tapping against the elegant slabs of concrete. He took the stairs and walked to the end of the hall, tapestries hanging all around him bringing warmth and colour to the cold hallway. When he reached the large doors of the library he stopped and considered whether he should enter or not.

She would be displeased to see him, she would be furious. 'However...' a dark thought spoke to his mind, 'perhaps she has longed to see you as you have longed to see her. Perhaps she goes to the library to be alone, hoping you might follow.'

Will scratched his chin idly and pondered this, if he was pleasant, and that was a big if. If he was pleasant, she just might speak to him. He took hold of the large brass doorknob and pushed the door open, walking into the library and heading straight for the fireplace; knowing that is where she would be. She didn't even look up to see who might have entered her sanctuary, her mind was lost in the great tales of her heroes.

Will approached the small loveseat and leaned on its back to look over her head to the pages of her book.  
"I didn't say what kind of book. You have a foul mind Bingley." Will read aloud over her head doing a perfect imitation of Mr Darcy before quickly switching to a higher tone of voice, "Don't mock me on my sister's wedding day!" He smirked to himself as he read the retort of Mr Darcy, "I mocked you on yours; I hardly see how this is as bad."

Tessa had tensed when he had began speaking and now that he had finished she felt a cold anger sweep over her. She shut the book with a snap and began to collect herself preparing to leave. Shadowing her movements Will quickly appeared in front of her and took hold of her wrist lightly and stopped her in her tracks.

Her sudden movements had pushed her dark locks into her face and the shadows from the fire cast dark shapes across her features making her look ethereal. His voice caught in his throat and he stared longingly at her face, his gaze moving from her bright grey eyes down to her gentle slopping neck and further still to the skin just above her bodice. He wet his lips and looked back up to find her glaring at him with enough force to rock him back on his heels.

"Unhand me at once!" Her voice, usually soft and angelic, was as sharp as daggers and as cold as the winter streets just outside the window.

"Calm yourself Tessie, I only wish to talk." His own reply was curt and the use of her old nickname made colour rise in her pale cheeks.  
The contrast was brilliant and Will found himself distracted once again by her, he was sure no one else so fair skinned could blush such a passionate red. Tessa snatched her wrist out of his grip and pulled her book against her chest as though to protect herself. Returning to his senses Will smirked at her action and took a deliberate step towards her, leaving them only mere inches apart.

"Move back. Do you hear me? Move back, you're invading my personal space!" Her cheeks were darkening by the second and Will couldn't help but relish the effect he was having on her, two weeks of her avoiding him had driven him almost into insanity.

"Put the book down, or did you plan on swinging it at me?" he mocked her, "Please. If I intended to harm you I wouldn't stand and talk about it."

Though his tone was playful something dark stirred in his eyes and he swept a look over her once more. Tessa felt something cold crawl up her spine and she gripped the book tightly for support, praying she could say the words to make him leave.

"I do not wish to speak with the likes of you" she gave him a pointed look, "have you so quickly forgotten the way in which you spoke to me? Well, I have not. So I shall say goodnight to you, Mr. Herondale."

She attempted to brush past him but his hand moved at what could only be described as lightening speed and took a firm hold on her arm, "Mr. Herondale? Are we not past all the formalities by this point Tess?"

Tessa flushed furiously and turned to look at him, not bothering to shrug off his grip on her, "I do not wish to be familiar to someone who speaks to me and treats me as unfairly as you _William_!"

He smiled softly at her when she said his name, though as angry as she was he still felt that the way she said his name was more beautiful than angels singing. He opened his mouth to apologize, to explain, to make it better...Until he realised he had no idea how to. If he told her he was sorry and hadn't meant what he'd said, he'd have to explain the reason for why he said such things.

He'd have to talk about his feelings. He frowned instantly at the thought of such a nauseating conversation. She was staring at the floor, trying to calm herself he supposed. There would only be now to do it, she most likely would not forgive him if he did not explain his actions. Searching for the words he had never uttered in his life was proving difficult for Will, and after a few minutes Tessa looked up to see if he were still there.

She hadn't looked at him properly since that painful day, the day he took all of her dreams and smashed them in front of her eyes. But looking at him now she could see why it was so easy for any woman to give her heart to Will. His dark hair was kept short but was longer on top giving him an air of stature but still making him look boyish, his eyes—lost somewhere in thought—were the exact shade of blue before the sun rose.

He was well dressed in his suit trousers and button shirt, but he wore the top two buttons undone and his shirt sleeves had been rolled up. Tessa looked at the curve of his lips and angle of his jaw and wondered if he had been created for her own destruction. For as handsome as Will was, he was just as cruel. His spontaneous kindness to her had once charmed her but now just left her feeling foolish and used. He was a riddle with no reason, a mystery with no clues.

When Will realised she was staring at him he snapped out of his thoughts and stared back. He had no idea how to say it, no idea how she'd take it, but he was going to try. Using his grip on her arm, he pulled the frozen beauty towards him and looked down sadly into her eyes.

"Tess..I.." he paused and pinched the bridge of his nose, praying to the angel that he might be able to finish, "I can't apologize enough for what I said to you. I know apologizing won't take away the sting of what I said either, but I still want you to know i'm sorry."

He sighed and waited to see if she'd say anything, do anything. She remained silent and continued to stare at him as though waiting to hear more. He frowned to himself and looked away before bringing his gaze back to her.

"I can't tell you my reasoning behind my actions because I don't have any. What can I say? I'm a cruel man. However" he paused and looked at her deeply, "I can say that the last two weeks have been torturous without your company, and I miss your laugh..Your smile."

He traced his thumb lightly over her lips, Tessa's eyes softened and she closed her eyes to enjoy the feeling. Feeling that her response was positive he continued and tipped her chin up and brought his face close to hers.

"If you would forgive me, I will promise to make it up to you. I am a man of my word." He smirked when she blushed but made no move to close the gap between them.

Growing impatient Tessa opened her eyes and frowned at him, "I didn't know you wanted a verbal answer" she frowned at him, "I do forgive you Will, but I cannot forget what you did so easily. You will have to earn back my friendship."

Seeming delighted by her answer he nodded once and gave her a crooked grin—something he saved only for Tessa—and quickly captured her lips with his own. He kissed her softly while caressing her cheek so as not to frighten her but Tessa soon wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him against her.

Following her lead he deepened the kiss and rested his hand on her waist, tracing light patterns over her corset.

For the third time that night the only sound Will could hear was the pitter-patter of the rain, and with a sly grin he thought he just might like it better that way.


	2. Look At Me

_"You say you want it all, but whose side you fighting for?" — Only One, Alex band_

* * *

Standing on the roof of the institute always made Jem feel like a bird. He could look down at the streets below and see all the way to the opposite side of town over the river. Unlike a bird though, Jem was not free to sail carelessly around London. He sighed and ran his long pale fingers through his silver locks, a habit he had picked up in the past month. The acceptance of his illness had always been something that he had long ago given into—until she had come along.

Tessa Gray. He whispered her name and felt it almost die on his lips. She was the sweetest girl he had ever met, a foreign kindness that he had not been used to. He could picture her perfectly in his mind, her serious expression and curling dark hair that was so becoming at night with her flushed cheeks.

There were a lot of beautiful women in the world, and Jem had met plenty of them. However, Tessa's beauty was something he had never came across before. She was simple, strong, bold and yet shy. At times she would explode with emotion and shine so bright that to be near her at such times was intoxicating, though in the next moment she could be quiet and thoughtful, as though she were holding herself back.

Many woman were either beautiful on the inside or on the outside; Tessa was one of the rare cases that was both inner and outer beauty. A ghost of a smile made its way onto Jem's lips—he wasn't the only one who had noticed this about her.

Will. A mix of emotions passed through him when he thought of his parabati. Will was his best friend, his only friend. He was also the most complicated person to understand—even for Jem. It was obvious that he had been affected by Tessa just as Jem had, but he seemed to deny it profusely and with his recent actions had even pushed her away stating as much.

Will could fool himself, he could fool Tessa but he wouldn't fool Jem. It was the first time in all the years that they had known each other that Jem had seen Will get so worked up about anything, or anyone.

Jem pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind as he gazed down at the misty roads beneath him. He was so lost in thought he didn't hear the fire escape door open and the brunette stick her head around the door.

"Jem?" Hearing her quiet unsure voice shook him out of his revere and he spun around to look at her, smiling instantly and leaning his back against the dark railings behind him.

"Ms. Gray, what brings you up here?"

Tessa blushed faintly and she twiddled her fingers together looking down for a moment, "I was actually looking for you, you weren't in your room and so I just thought you might be up here.." she bit her lip before looking up at him. "Did I disturb you?"

"No, no. Not at all. I was just enjoying the evening air, company would be much appreciated" he smiled at her and held out a gloved hand, she placed her smaller hand in his and stepped next to him looking down onto London below.

"It is quite lovely up here, do you often come up here to think?"

"At times, I find that it is riveting to watch humans go about their uneventful lives" he grinned, it lit up his grey eyes.

"Jem, you're teasing me!" Tessa laughed, she loved seeing him smile—he looked so healthy and full of life.

"Not at all Ms. Gray I was merely—"

"Tessa. Call me Tessa, Jem" she interrupted him and smiled.

Jem stared at her for a moment before smiling slightly and looking down at her, "Tessa" he corrected himself. Saying her name out loud made his chest tighten and the obvious delight on her face didn't help at all, he looked at the night sky. Her hand was still clutched in his, but she didn't seem to mind and he certainly wasn't about to let it go. He weaved his fingers through hers and to distract her that he had done so he quickly asked, "What is your favourite colour Tessa?"

Surprise fleeted across her face before she pursed her lips and thought, "Blue. What is yours?"

"Grey."

"What a dismal colour! Surely you cannot think that grey is attractive?"

Jem looked down at her through hooded eyes, he looked from her feet all the way up to her head before his eyes rested on hers. Tessa was immediately alarmed by what she had said, Jem's eyes and hair were silver, but he might consider them grey. Worried that she might of offended him she began to apologize and explain what she had meant but he waved it away.

"I do find grey attractive actually. Mysterious and cloudy, you cannot help but wonder what lies behind them, what they think when they drink you in and then flicker away" his voice grew quiet as their gazes locked and Tessa felt her heart quicken as her cheeks flushed. She had wondered what 'they' had been until it had became apparent he was complimenting her eyes. Tessa had always thought they were plain and dull, nothing special. She pushed a lock of her dark hair behind her ear as she swallowed thickly.

"I suppose, I had never thought of it that way."

Jem smiled like he knew something she didn't before he squeezed her hand gently, "You shouldn't doubt the beauty of them, I assure you they are quite lovely."

Tessa flushed darker and had to avert her gaze, "Thank you."

They were both quiet for a long time, but it was a comfortable silence. After a few minutes Tessa returned the favour and gave Jem's hand a gentle squeeze, he chuckled and in a moment they were both laughing quietly. Not really about anything funny, just at the pleasant feeling of being together and being happy.

"It's getting quite dark isn't it?" Tessa asked after she'd stopped laughing, Jem shrugged lazily.

"It is. Do you want to go back inside?"

"No, not yet. When you are ready we'll go, I like the sky at night. Full of grey" she grinned at him and he pushed his tongue into the inside of his cheek to stop from laughing again.

She was too cute. It was so easy to be around her—like breathing. He lifted their intertwined hands to examine her dress glove, it was a stone grey colour with a black flower design just before her wrist. Tessa smiled as she watched him turn her hand over in his own, he was so curious that it reminded her of a little boy. Such unfailing kindness and innocence, and yet Jem wasn't any more innocent that she was. They had both been subject to terrible pasts and alarming incidents. But looking at him now, she wouldn't have thought it.

"Come, we had best head inside." He dropped her hand and turned towards the fire escape.

Tessa was momentarily stunned before she followed after him. He seemed to have suddenly gone distant, she could see it in the set of his shoulders and his briskness as he walked. She followed silently and puzzled over if she had said something to offend him, or if he was hurting because he hadn't taken his medicine in a while.

She would have asked, but she knew Jem didn't like to take it in front of her. He was proud that way, seeming weak was something he absolutely avoided at all costs. And she respected that.

When they had reached Tessa's dorm Jem paused and turned to her with a fond smile, "Thank you for your company tonight, I hope you sleep well."

'Ever the gentleman', she thought with a slight smile, "No, thank you for letting me. Goodnight Jem."

She moved to open the door but he caught her hand and drew it to his mouth. Tessa was just as startled as the last time he'd done this, but it was different this time. He stopped his action just before his mouth and slowly tugged off her glove. Tessa felt her skin burn where his hand now touched it, it was pleasant feeling but set her nerves on edge. Soft as a butterflies wings he pressed his mouth against the back of her hand as his eyes flickered up to lock with hers.

Her cheeks flushed as she stared back at him. It seemed like an eternity before he finally dropped her hand and smiled at her, his own cheeks a little pink as he did so.

"Goodnight, Tessa."

Before she could even respond he handed her the glove and walked across the hall into his own room shutting the door quietly behind him. Tessa stood where she was for a few minutes and pressed her hand to her warm flushed cheek.

'What on earth was that.. This feeling..' she frowned and pushed the thoughts away before turning and entering her own room. Whatever it was, she wasn't going to deal with it now. A smile lit her features as she climbed into bed, 'Jem Carstairs.. Huh.' She blew out the candle on her beside unit and snuggled down into her pillow.

Unsuspecting to anyone, a pair of dark blazing eyes had watched the whole exchange. He closed the book in his hand with a light snap before turning and walking back towards the library. Any tiredness he had been feeling was drained out of him.

The look on her face played over and over again in his mind, he let out an exasperated sigh and flung himself onto one of the loungers in front of the fire.  
"Get out of my head" he mumbled as he covered his face with his hands.

Three souls, two choices, one love.


	3. The Dawn

_"You can take everything I have, you can break everything I am. Like i'm made of glass, like i'm made of paper.." — Demi Lovato, Skyscraper_

* * *

Tessa stood there alone. It was stupid for her to have come up here at all, what did she expect to feel? The rooftop was empty and cold, like the hollow in her chest.

He had spoken to her from this very spot the night before. Told her exactly what she was, what she meant to him and what she could expect of _them. _Nothing.

A silent tear rolled down her cheek as she stared up at the heavens, the stars covered by the smoky clouds of the early morning. She wiped the dampness from her cheek, she would not cry anymore. Not in front of him—anyone—and certainly not alone. His name formed on her lips but no sound escaped.

'This is the last time I will say that name, I am not so foolish to wait around and dream. Yet you are so cruel as to leave me with no hope to do so. Just watch me sit here and cry, do you think I will do it? I shall not, I refuse to. Goodbye, Will.'

Her silent thoughts helped ease the sting in her heart, her eyes no longer felt damp. She could breathe again. As the night sky faded to lighter shades of blue and the sun edged its way up on the horizon, she drew in an uneven breath.

Tessa drew her night gown closer to her as the birds burst into song, London could almost be considered beautiful in the morning. She watched as a crow soared up towards the sky. It's black glossy coat making a brilliant contrast to the orange and yellow dawn behind it, it soared higher, surpassing the tallest buildings.

Tessa smiled softly, she wished she could follow it. Up to the clouds where everything would seem small and insignificant, where life would seem simpler. Her heart swelled in her chest and her smile brightened, perhaps she couldn't follow it, but she could follow it's example.

Leave it all behind and start anew. She closed her eyes and let the morning rays touch and warm her face. Life, love, worries and fears drifting from her mind and setting her free. They would all be there when she came back down, but for now, she was above it all.

* * *

_I know it's short, I just wanted to write something about Tessa's feelings of the aftermath of what happened concerning her and Will. Enjoy!_


	4. A Girl In Uniform

_"That uniform you're wearing, so hot I can't stop staring. You're putting on an awesome show" —Air Hostess, Busted_

* * *

Will felt his whole body jerk forward as the train pulled to a stop at the central station in Chicago. The steam from the engine blew all around the train momentarily obscuring his vision of the surroundings he now found himself in. A slap on the back alerted him that it was time to get off, turning to glance at the young man behind him his face broke into a wide grin.

"Fancy seeing you here!"

"What are the odds?" replied a soft voice, Will stood up to appraise his friend. In a beige suit James Carstairs looked exceptionally darker than usual. His black hair was cut short and neatly combed beneath his military cap, the colour of the suit setting off his skin to a slightly darker shade than Will was used to.

"You look well, Jem" they grappled one another in an awkward back slapping hug. After both laughing it off they pulled apart and collected their cases before making their way off the train and down onto the stations platform. The station was full of life from the arrival of the marine soldiers, papers in hand Will and Jem walked through the bustling centre to find their fleet organizer. A ginger man stood waving his arms in all directions, he wore the same suit as the two young men but apart from that he looked absolutely nothing like a general. Will swore under his breath as they approached the estranged man.

"Ahh, first or second authority gentlemen?" asked the man as they stopped by his side. Jem immediately dropped his case and saluted the general in a mark of respect.

"First" Jem said, glancing over at Will to see why he hadn't followed his lead. Will rolled his eyes and made no move to salute the man, ignoring this completely the ginger man enthusiastically introduced himself.

"Excellent chaps! Lt. Branwell, but Henry will do fine. Pleasure to meet you I'm sure, but we have little time for any of that. You see you're a little later than I was expecting and the rest of our fleet is already assembled, if you'd care to follow me."

Jem picked up his case and obediently began to follow behind Henry, Will sluggishly tagged along. As he fell into step beside his friend he leaned over to mutter, "Are you sure he's our general? Seems a bit harebrained if you ask me." Jem laughed quietly but didn't respond, just then Henry glanced back and hurried them on. Outside the station there was a large army green coloured truck waiting for them, climbing up inside it Will had hardly enough time to sit down before it pulled away.

He rather ungracefully lurched into another soldier, who glared at him in disdain, Will rose to the challenge and glared right back. But before he could threaten the life of the man Jem tugged him by the scruff of his collar into the seat beside him. "Please Will, lets at least _get_ there in one piece, yes?"

Will gave a small grunt in acknowledgement but shot a look at the boy anyway. It wasn't a long journey from the station to the training camp, a half hour later and they were hauling their suitcases into the dorm facilities. Unfortunately the bunkers weren't the most spacious things in the world, but Will slung his case onto the top bunk of the set closest to the toilets. Jem followed after him and claimed the bunk beneath him. The other men muttered under their breaths as they walked past Will and Jem, having been first to arrive they felt it was their right to have first stakes on which bed to have.

But Will waited for no one.

Soon enough Henry made another appearance into the men's bunker cabin. "Alright ladies, get yourself associated with each other and with the grounds. Tomorrow we start boot camp." With that he walked back out to leave the men to get settled. Will continued to unpack his small suitcase grumbling to himself.

"Ladies? Whose he calling a lady, why I oughta.." a laugh from behind him stopped his train of thought and he looked behind him to see a large burly looking boy. His green eyes were narrowed to match the sneer on his face.

Will raised an eyebrow at him, "Something funny?"

"Naw, nothing really. Just thought you complain like my old grandma and it's only day one. Not cut out for this sort of thing?" his tone was mocking, the sneer on his face was growing wider, and Will's patience was failing him. He was tired, hungry and in a foul mood. Though he was always in a foul mood, but that wasn't the point.

"Listen chubbs, why don't you just move along and mind your own business. I know you've got ears on you like a satellite so I suppose that must be hard." Will turned back to his belongings until he felt himself being spun around and pushed up against the hard post of his bunker. The bed shook with his frame being thrust against its side, looking up at the guy in front of him his face twisted into a wicked smile.

"You really don't want to annoy me right now" he said as the boy took a hold of the front of his shirt.

"What's the matter pretty boy, afraid I'll ruin that baby face?"

"How flattering, but it's common knowledge that i'm pretty. You on the other hand will be lucky to impregnate someone of the opposite sex by the time you're forty two. Hard luck."

"Why you cocky little—!" he raised his fist and launched it forward in Will's direction, but Will was already gone. Standing in confusion the boy glanced to his left and right before feeling a tap on his back. He looked around to find Will standing behind him waving, before he could react Will hooked him on the side of the face knocking him straight to the ground. He smirked and leaned down over him looking triumphant.

"I did warn you, Chubbs." He went to move away from him but too late he noticed his ankle and been gripped, in one sweeping motion he found himself kissing the floor. He gave a low groan and quickly hauled himself up into a standing position, his eyes narrowing as the boy stood up also. Dusting off his trousers Will spoke lightly, "You're going to regret that."

The two boys threw themselves at each other and began rolling around throwing punches at each other's faces. The men in the bunker crowded around calling out bets of who would win and cheering the fighters on. Jem had stepped out to take a shower to freshen up, walking back into the bunker with a towel draped around his neck he looked over at the large crowd shouting. He moved closer to see what all the fuss was about, sighing in annoyance as he seen a rather bloody Will sitting atop another young man.

Will had blood dripping from his eye right down the side of his face, but apart from that he looked otherwise unharmed. The same could not be said for the boy underneath him, his face was covered in bruises, his lip and nose busted open from the force of Will's punches and one of his eyes was severely swollen.

Jem rolled his eyes and quickly parted the crowd stepping in to lift Will easily off the boy, "Stop trying to hit me, it's me you idiot!"

Will stopped immediately at the sound of Jem's voice and looked back at him confused, "I'm winning, what are you doing? The deal is only interfere if death looks certain."

"Death does look certain, _his_ death!" Jem dragged him back before pointing at the motionless body still sprawled on the floor. Will followed his gaze and shrugged lightly as though this was to be expected. Shrugging Jem's grip off he walked back over to see how his victim was holding up.

Looking down at him Will held out a hand to help the young man off the floor, "What's your name Chubbs?"

The boy took his hand and with Will's help managed to stand up rightly once again, spitting blood onto the floor he coughed quietly. He looked at Will then and practically wheezed out, "Gabriel Lightwood, not chubbs. It's muscle, not fat you faggot."

Will rolled his eyes, "Yeah whatever helps you sleep at night. Well Gabriel, you're shite at fighting, but fair go." He smiled at him in amusement when Gabriel glared at him, but then slapped him on the arm and turned away to walk back towards his bunker. His clothes were still inside his suitcase.

"You're British?" Gabriel called after him as he walked away.

Will paused to glance over his shoulder, "Welsh."

A few of the men that had been surrounding the fight decided to help Gabriel to the nurses office to get him cleaned up. He frowned and tried to wave it off but at the mention of an infection taking place if they weren't seen to quick, soon got him moving out of the cabin. Will chuckled under his breath and after sorting out his belongings swung himself up onto his bed with his feet hanging over the side.

Jem finished putting his bed in order just as Will's feet suddenly appeared in his view, looking up at him Jem shook his head. "You're a real piece of work, you know that? You better go get a few stitches for that cut on your eyebrow. You're dripping blood everywhere. How'd you get a cut anyway, did he pull out a knife?"

Will snorted with laughter, "A knife? I wish, the fat shite clawed at my eye. Clawed, like a girl! Pretty pathetic but there you have it."

Jem laughed with him and shook his head again at the ridiculousness of it all. "All the same, you best head over to the nurses' station to get it looked at. He could have rabies or anything for all you know, don't want that hitting the blood stream" he joked in a chiding voice.

At the mention of 'nurses' Will immediately perked up and jumped down from his bed landing easily on his feet. "Well now that I didn't know of, they train women here too? This I have to see."

He began walking out of the bunker, smirking to himself at the idea of pretty girls in uniform. Jem sighed and called after him, "Be nice Will! I know one of them!"

Will waved him off as though the idea of him being anything but nice was absurd, which of course it was not. He wasn't sure where the hospital building was but as soon as he had crossed the road he saw the signature sign of the red cross flag waving outside a small white cabin. He smiled and headed over quickly, walking up the ramp and pulling the small swing door open. Stepping in he glanced around looking for sign of life.

"Hello? Anybody here?" he saw a small silver bell on the reception desk in front of him and tapped on it twice loudly. Almost immediately a woman sprung up from behind the desk. Will jumped back in shock and couldn't stop himself from shouting, "Gah!"

A fat, hobbit of a woman sat behind the desk. She was so short that even though on a chair only her beady eyes and fat cheeks showed above the height of the counter. Will leaned closer so he could see her better. The view didn't improve.

"What can I do for you handsome?" she squawked at him, her tiny eyes raking him up and down in a hungry manner. Will had to control himself from grimacing or throwing up, clearing his throat he slyly leaned against the desk and smiled at her charmingly.

"Well thank you very much, I must say you yourself are looking rather lovely this fine afternoon" the woman visibly cheered up at that and hearing his accent seemed to almost glow. "I am actually in need of some assistance, took a nasty fall you see" he paused to gesture to his eyebrow, "and I am in belief that I may be in need of some stitches."

"Oh of course" she said in her hoarse voice before leaning back in her little chair and screaming at the top of her lungs, "Gray!" She looked back at Will then and gave him a toothless smile, "I'm Agatha, don't forget it" she winked at him and Will felt the bile rise up in his throat again.

He nodded to her, "I'll do my best to remember such a beautiful name." This seemed to appease the woman, she directed him down the hall and into the third door on the left. As he walked away he heard her bansheeish call of "GRAY!" again.

Turning to the third door he grasped the doorknob and twisted it before just walking straight into the room. It happened very quickly, one moment he'd been walking forward and the next he was balancing on his hands and knees on the floor above a rather attractive young woman. Wide grey eyes stared up into his blue ones, a mix of shock and irritation on her face. Will smirked.

"Well hello there, are you the one to save me?" he grinned down at her cheekily, but to his surprise she didn't seem at all effected by his show at being 'cute'. With a hard shove the girl pushed him off of her and quickly stood up fixing herself. Will stood up also, recovering quickly from the new experience of ever being pushed off a girl instead of pulled on top of one. He scrutinized the nurse in front of him.

Her dark hair tumbled loosely around her shoulders and fell just to her waist, her grey eyes looking down at the clipboard in her hands. Her skin colour was unusual for an American, she was rather pale, almost porcelain. His eyes raked over her uniform and a smile tugged at his lips.

This was what nurses everywhere should look like. The short sleeved white dress stopped just above her knees, a red cross printed on the small apron she wore around her waist. She had on small white flats and a little hat on her head that also had a printed red cross on it.

Feeling his stare the girl flushed darkly, the red making her skin look even whiter and Will took a moment to appreciate the contrast.

"Do you mind?" she snapped in a thick New York accent, any doubts of her not being American vanished and Will made his gaze move from her bust to her face.

"Hmm? Do I mind what exactly?"

"Do you mind not looking at me like I'm a slab of meat! And don't smirk at me, you vile little boy."

Will blanched and then almost laughed, "Little boy? I think you'll find I'm older than you, girl."

She stood straight and taking on a business expression very pointedly corrected him, "Age does not matter, yank. I am a nurse of this station, and as such I am your superior. I can tell by your uniform, and that lovely cut above your eyebrow that you're a newbie here. I deal with boys like you every day and if you look at any part of me besides my face one more time I _will_ hit you. So take a seat, soldier."

Will had never been told off in his life, except by perhaps his mother. It was rather exhilarating to listen to the authority in her voice and without any second warnings from her, he very gladly took a seat on the medical bench beside him. "Alright Princess, you're in charge."

She flicked her hair over her shoulder before reaching for a couple of swabs, a needle and thread. She sprayed some ointment on the swab before pressing it rather roughly to the spot above Will's eye. He winced, she smirked.

"Correction, Nurse Gray, not Princess."

Will tried his best to sit still as she cleaned him up, the solution she had applied to the swab was stinging like crazy. Closing one eye he did his best to smoulder at her, but to no avail. She didn't even bother to look at him as she worked and soon took up the needle and began to make small stitches above his eye.

"Nurse Gray? That's a little formal for us, don't you think?" she tugged on the needle and Will cried out in pain and leaned towards her to try and stop the stinging. She seemed to be trying not to laugh at him.

"I'll give you this much, you know how to distract someone." After another few tugs above his eyebrow she cut the thread and went to wipe the needle clean and bin the swabs. Will rubbed his sore spot before grinning to himself slightly.

"I could distract you in a whole lot of different ways," this seemed to catch her attention. She paused what she was doing and glanced over her shoulder at him.

"Is this the point where I push you down on the table and beg you to take me now?" she arched a perfect eyebrow at him, Will gulped quietly. He hadn't expected her to be so direct, he kinda liked it.

Rubbing his chin as if to pretend to think he said, "Well that all depends, do you keep protection in these places? I mean it is a hospital, but I can't imagine you would have much need for them with nurses like the hobbit around here."

That made her laugh, a quiet tinkling sound that immediately made Will smile, she walked back over to him and dabbed a wet cloth against his stitches to remove any leftover blood. Smiling at him she said quietly, "You know I would.. But there's just one problem" she leaned in closer to him and Will automatically leaned in as well.

"What's that then?" he spoke quietly as well, his voice turning husky due to their close proximity. He could almost see down her top, just a little further...

"You're not my type" she deadpanned before shoving him back slightly by pushing against his chest. She walked back to the sink then to wash out the cloth. Will laughed and shook his head to himself. So she was going to play hard to get? Game on.

He climbed off the table and waited for her to turn back around, he imagined what her reaction would be if he just dropped his pants right then and there, he almost laughed out loud. "Well if you're not going to be nice to me, you may as well repay me and tell me your name?"

The girl's eyebrows shot up and she scoffed, "Repay you? I just sowed you up, I don't owe you anything at all. Now Mr. I'm-In-Love-With-Myself, the door is right behind you."

Will grinned and opened the door and shut it loudly again, he waited until she span around again before smirking at her. "Gotcha, now if you want to be rid of me you better just hurry up and give me your name."

She scowled at him and placed her hands on her hips, "What difference will it make?"

"Makes all the difference to me, your name fair maiden?" he wiggled his eyebrows at her and noticed how hard she was trying not to smile.

"Well, that's a new one. Very well, if you must know, ugly peasant. My name is Tessa." She smiled slightly but then wiped it from her face and nodded at the door waiting for him to hurry up and get out of her room now.

Will grinned like a five year old on Christmas and crossed the room quickly to take her hand and kiss the back of it. His eyes moving up to her face to watch the glorious blush spread over her cheekbones.

"Well, my dear Tessa. I pray we shall meet again, perhaps when I'm not needing to be 'sowed' up."

Tessa laughed again at this but waved him off before pushing him towards the door, he opened it and took a step into the hall before turning around to smirk at her. "And we both know you don't think I'm ugly, I saw you staring" he winked at her and began walking down the hall.

Looking after him in wonder Tessa found herself calling out to him, "You didn't tell me your name!" She watched as he stopped and turned to look back at her, his black hair darkened further by the surrounding white of the walls. Even from here she could see how blue his eyes were, and watch that signature smirk spread across his lips.

"That's because I didn't give you it. Another time?" he chuckled to himself and turned away again, calling over his shoulder as he left. "Bunker 17 Tessa, stop by some time."

He walked out the door then and Tessa stood there for a moment, a smile playing at her lips. A pretty blonde nurse walked out of the opposite room then and rolled her eyes. "Tessa! What are you doing just standing around in the corridor? I asked for supplies half an hour ago!"

Tessa blinked and looked at Jessamine, "Oh right.. Of course.." she walked back into her surgery room then and sat down on the medical bench. She had no doubt that she'd be seeing that young man again soon. Whether by her own decision or him coming to find her, the thought made her grin.

'Bunker 17?' she thought, trying to locate where that was on campus. She walked to her window glancing out, and started laughing loudly. The boy was walking across the road and into the cabin directly across from her that was marked in giant white text "17".

* * *

_For anyone wondering, Jem doesn't have silver hair or eyes because this is an AU story. He was never infected with demon poison so he'd look normal. _


	5. Let Me Let Go

_"After all these years, we just now got the feeling that we're needed, for the first time" —The Script, For The First Time_

* * *

She was his. He was hers. They were there's. It was a done deal.

No refunds, no backsie's and certainly no changing of the mind to occur on anyone's part.

So why didn't she understand that? Why in the name of the flaming angels could she not wrap her thick—god awful pretty—head around this concept!

He was fuming, the rage building up to such a point that even he wasn't sure how it was going to relieve itself, or more to the point, on _who._

William Herondale, in all his fabulously handsome glory, was glaring holes through the back of his lovely wife's head. She didn't even seem to notice, her dainty hands just kept picking up things and packing them away in the large boxes she had surrounded herself with. In his hand he held her set of keys to their home, she had given them to him this morning.

First she had packed her clothes, raided out the entire wardrobe and astounding Will to realise he had very little clothes of his own. Then it had been her photo's and jewellery—collected over their last seven years together, holidays, birthday's, anniversary's and the like. After she had moved onto the twins' room.

He unclenched and clenched his fists as he watched her box in their toys, clothes, favourite movies and the blanket that neither of them would sleep without and always made a show of fighting over at bedtime.

Will was leaning against the entryway to their lounge, **theirs**, his arms folded across his chest in complete intolerance of what he was watching. For the seventh time that hour he announced to the room, "You're not leaving."

She visibly twitched at this, his demanding—no room for arguing—tone making her even more set in her ways that she was going to get out of here and get out now. Tessa ignored him and pressed on, taping up another filled box and marking it 'Toys and Things', before pulling another empty cardboard box towards her and starting to fill it also.

Two little boys ran into the room then, toddlers who had barely learned to walk as they tumbled against every surface that they possibly could just to make it towards their mother. Equal in height and build, the Herondale twins were probably the cutest and most deceiving pair of toddlers to have ever lived.

Identical twins, except for one factor. Where Jacob's hair was black, James's hair was slightly lighter, a very rich dark brown. Their eyes the spitting image of their father's, glass bottle blue. They were not as pale as Will though, they had inherited Tessa's slightly darker skin colour. From their button noses to their laser guns they were all in all, adorable.

Jacob tripped over one of the many boxes blocking the hallway and tumbled forward, without so much as blinking Tessa caught him and righted him on his feet. "Don't run" she said in such a mild way that it was obvious she repeated this half her day, every day.

James busted into a fit of tinkling laughter at absolutely nothing and just pointed at his two minute older brother chuckling away, Will bit his tongue to stop from laughing himself. No one quite laughed like James did—it was loud, abrupt and contagious.

When the laughter stopped, Jacob launched himself at his twin and they grappled on the floor. Pulling hair and smooshing faces into the carpet.

"Boys!" Tessa chided and shook her head.

They quickly broke apart and rolled away from each other. Both standing up, they gave equally adorable sheepish smiles and said in unison, "Sowwy."

She sighed, and gave them a hard look and tried to remain firm in the face of devilish cuteness. It was difficult, the ashamed blush on their cheeks was killing her and in the end she just groaned and waved a hand at them to go away.

As quick as the blush had appeared it was gone, they laughed and tumbled off again knocking things over in their path and chasing one another out into the garden.

"They won't learn if you can't hold your ground" Will said softly, the urge to walk over and pull her into a hug so strong he had to pull his arms tighter against his chest to fight it off.

"Oh and you being the fabulous parent that you are, would know this how? Perhaps you learned it when you were reading books during my pregnancy? Oh but wait, you weren't here half the time so that can't be it. Maybe you learned it along the way by spending time with your two sons on a day to day basis? But then again, how often do they even see you? Once a week, three times a month perhaps? I rest my case."

Tessa felt drained after unloading so much sarcasm in one blow, he really had rubbed off on her during their years. She felt tears prick behind her eyes but she pushed them back and continued on with her packing, almost as though she was storing away her feelings along with her belongings.

Will could stand no more of it, he'd stood and watched long enough and this had to stop **now**.

She still had her back to him, completely unsuspecting that he'd finally snapped until he lifted her off the floor and into his arms as though he were carrying a small child.

"Put me down! In god's name, have you gone mad?" she struggled against his hold but there was no use in it, a lifetime in training hand to hand combat against her own measly yoga strength wasn't going to work.

"I'm getting there" his voice was huskier than usual and while still holding her in his arms he kicked out at the nearest box to him. It went sailing across the hallway and burst open when it hit the opposite wall. Tessa's clothes spilled out everywhere, she was just thankful it hadn't been a box with anything solid in it.

Will didn't seem to be happy with just the one box and so sent another one flying after the first, this one being the twins' clothes.

"Alright that is quite enough!"

With his rage now focused on the boxes Tessa managed to climb out of his arms. She fixed her dress straight and turned to glare at him, so many words boiled on the tip of her tongue and she just wanted to throw them all at him and watch him suffer under the weight of them. Finally crack open that stupidly complicated mind of his and see what _really_ mattered to him.

The urge was so strong, but when his eyes met hers it deflated. She didn't want to hurt him, he was already so broken up. Even the thought of doing damage to him made her ache with a longing to hug him and just hold him together.

She sighed and tucked her hair behind her ear, "Just leave me alone Will, just stop."

"Leave you alone? I don't think you've realised but you just boxed up half of our lives together, half of _my_ life! And you expect me to just 'leave you alone'?" he stared at her incredulously for a moment while her hopeless grey eyes looked back.

She looked defeated, as if all her resolve was just hanging by a thread. It would be so easy to cut that thread, he thought, so simple to just claim her back as his. So then why couldn't he do it?

"Fine. Leave. Go."

He turned away and headed for the stairs but Tessa caught his hand and held it softly. It had been so long since she had let him touch her, and longer still since she had touched him. He stood perfectly still and basked in the feeling of her warm small hand curled within in large rough one.

"It's only a year Will, one year. I just need to know if we can actually make this work. I need a fresh start, so we can go back and start like we should have done. Not when we were kids. It was perfect for a while, but that wasn't real, we fell apart."

Will tried to remember a time when he hadn't been happy with Tessa. They had met when he was seventeen, she being two years younger than him had came onto the college campus with her older brother Nate. At only fifteen she was the prettiest girl he had ever met, the smartest too. He had teased her, she had blushed, they had clicked.

Their years of dating were a blur. Late nights at the beach, kissing in his car, fighting with Tessa's father about her being too young. And then that fateful night when he had finally been allowed the beautiful privilege of taking her home with him. She'd been so nervous, she was only sixteen then, he could remember perfectly the way she had looked though.

She looked the same to him now, just slightly more mature. At twenty-two years old she was still the most beautiful girl—well, woman—he had seen or would ever see. Maybe they had grown up too fast, getting her pregnant at nineteen wasn't exactly part of the plan though. It just happened. And he would never regret it.

Asking her to marry him had seemed like the next step. He loved her, she was carrying his children, why would he not want to marry her? But he felt that Tessa put it down to that fact that he'd 'knocked her up' and did it out of decency.

Either way they had been married a few months after the twins were born, time enough that Tessa could get down to her old dress size. Not that he cared, but she had demanded it.

Three years on from that date and here they were. Standing in a hall full of her things and their memories trying to figure out what had happened along the way to them. Will still didn't understand it, no matter what faults he may have, he knew they were perfect together.

She brought out the good in him, and he awakened the rebel in her.

"We fell apart? **We**? It takes two people for a 'we', Tessa. It seems to me that you did this all by yourself."

He tried to slide his hand out of her grip but she held onto it tightly, so hard that it was starting to hurt from the decreased blood flow entering his fingers.

"Don't you dare, don't you even think about blaming this on me you jerk!" her voice was furious, Will turned to look back at her a little surprised. Cheeks flushed and eyes narrowed, she glared at him with enough disdain to make him momentarily speechless.

"You weren't the one left behind! You didn't sit at home every night with two crying children wondering if you'd ever see the person you loved again! You never had to deal with the things I dealt with, Will! You never understood and you will _never_ understand! I've made allowances, oh I put up with some of your crap, it's not like I left the race at the first hurdle! I tried, I waited, but I can't do this anymore!"

The tears were running freely down her cheeks with no sign of stopping. It suddenly dawned on Will that he had never seen her cry before, not once. She didn't sob, she was silent, but the tears continued to stream down her face and drop onto her dress.

He reached out and brushed them away with his thumbs, cupping her pretty face in his hands. She let him do it, her eyes closing as he kissed and brushed away her tears. It didn't stop the tears completely, but it helped.

"Tessa..." he said her name quietly, at a loss for how guilty he was actually feeling. He couldn't say it though, and he hated himself for that.

"I had to work" he said in a strained voice, as though this explained everything.

She choked out a laugh and pushed his hands gently away from her face, still holding them in her own though. She shook her head, a strange ghost of a smile on her lips that was by no means sincere in anyway.

"You always had to work. You said it would only be full demand for the first year, then you could pick and choose what you took on when you were higher up. So I waited. Then you said that if you took on more than was required of you that you'd get promoted, and we could get a nicer house. I didn't care about that, but you did. So I waited. And now we have our fancy house, our nice cars and expensive clothes. But I don't want it, I never wanted it. I wanted you. I waited for you to finally get enough, for your desire for more success and money to finally be reached. But you'll always want more. You love your work, you love me, but that's the order it falls in. Work, and then us."

Will swallowed hard, she didn't sound angry anymore. Just broken.

It was true that he had dropped everything in order to be a success in his career. But being a bodyguard was a full time job. He would be called out for sessions at a time, monthly periods in which he worked twenty-four seven to keep some member of government, royalty or the like, safe.

He was good at what he did, he had quickly moved up the ranks even at the young age of twenty-one. Now that he was twenty-four he was the commanding leader of the special case units, they only dealt with the highest clients. The money was unbelievable, the job was challenging and exciting, the countries he visited new and exotic. He loved it.

But he loved her** more**.

Will had never thought about what it must be like for Tessa here at home, he supposed that he must have thought she'd have fun with her friends and spend time with the boys. He'd never realised that maybe she didn't want the fancy life that he wanted to give her. Maybe she didn't want the expensive gifts and holidays that some men only dream of. Maybe he really hadn't thought about her needs at all. Just what he thought she would want.

"I didn't know..." he spoke quietly, thoughtfully, as he gazed down at her. She smiled a little and nodded her head.

"I know that, that's why i'm not leaving for good. Just a little while, so that we can both think things over and know what we want. So that when—if—I come back, we're on the same page."

Will shook his head and bit his tongue, he didn't care how short she made a year sound, it was too long. He pulled her against him and buried his face in her soft brown hair. The scent of lavender and soap washed over him and he sighed enjoying its familiarity.

"I know what I want. Please... Don't.." that was all he managed, it was muffled but Tessa heard it.

She leaned into him, wrapping her slim arms around his torso. She didn't want to hurt him, she never wanted to hurt him. But she didn't want to hurt anymore either.

"I have to" she mumbled against his chest, he could feel her lips moving even through his shirt. He held her tighter against him and they just stood there for a long moment clinging to one another as though they were each other's only life line.

Will pulled back after a moment and stared down at her, he tilted up her chin so she met his gaze. He had to convince her, he would not lose her.

"No you don't. You think you have to, that's two different things. Tess, I can... Change" he paused and swallowed, "I can. Now that I know what the problem is, i'll fix it. I can fix this, I can fix us."

"Will stop.." she pleaded him, she could handle her own tears, she didn't think she could handle his. But she knew he wouldn't actually cry, she wasn't sure he could. But just his eyes glazing over like that, his vulnerable expression was hard enough to bare.

"No, I won't stop. You're mine. You were always mine" his dark eyes burned with passion and she felt her throat close up as she just stared into their fathomless depths.

Taking advantage of her lapse of resolve he quickly moved his hand onto her waist, the other coming up to cup the back of her neck. In a moment of desperate desire he crushed his mouth on hers and tried to force her to feel what he was feeling.

Her knees buckled as soon as their lips touched, but he held her firmly in place and moved his mouth against hers more gently than before, coaxing her to respond.

Tessa was shocked by the desperate way in which he held her, the way that he was kissing her, so different to any other kiss they had shared. She could feel his torment, how much this was killing him inside, how badly he needed her.

She'd always known Will loved her, wanted her and cherished her. But she'd never felt that he _needed_ her before. He always seemed like he didn't need anyone, that he was self-sufficient and could sustain himself. In his strong capable arms she felt smaller than a mouse.

Her eyes fluttered closed and she soon kissed him back, her hands gripping the back of his shirt and pulling him tighter against her body. She could feel that she was crying again, but she ignored it.

Will dropped his hand from her back and moved it to his back pocket, taking out the keys that she had returned to him earlier. He pulled back from her then so they could both catch their breath and dangled the key out in front of him.

Letting go of her grip on his shirt she moved her hand in front of her and opened her palm, he dropped the keys into her awaiting hands. Nothing was said, they just looked at one another in understanding. He took her hand in his again and lead her up the stairs, the boxes in the hallway forgotten completely.

She was his. He was hers. They were there's. It was a done deal.


	6. Under The Sea

_"I don't want the world to see me, because I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am" —Iris, Goo Goo Dolls_

* * *

Thunder crackled and curved over the evening sky, the clouds rolling in grey and black. From the earthly floor the humans dived towards their homes, seeking shelter from the oncoming storm. The picket fences shook free of their nails and blew off into the wild night, children's cries were heard throughout the land, terrified of the noise of the wracking wind against their window.

The Gods were in turmoil.

Unbeknownst to the humans, Mount Olympus rained down anger and frustration upon the waking world. The council was gathering, the debate of the century about to take place. As the golden gates opened a dark figure crashed through into the heart of Olympus. Trident in hand, water dripping from his hair and his dark blue eyes narrowed—he stormed his way to the throne room.

The rest of the gods has already assembled, when the figure burst into the room all eyes turned on him, he ignored this and strode his way to his place beside his brother. Zeus raised an eyebrow at him but then turned his gaze back to the young woman on his opposite side. She looked calm, controlled and prepared. The table had gone silent, it was time to begin.

"Rise, and state your glory" boomed out the voice of Zeus, his golden locks curling beautifully around his head, his eyes an equal shade looked around the room with authority and malice. He was the King of the gods, all answered to his order.

"Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty" a blonde haired girl stood up as she spoke, and remained standing after as well. Her hair curled evenly around her shoulders, brown eyes lit on fire like a winter's candle.

"Apollo, god of sun, light, music and prophecy" the young man who stood up was tall, thin and beautifully fragile looking. His hair and eyes drained to a fantastic silver that was highlighted by the faint glow that surrounded his being.

"Ares, god of war" a bold voice declared, his burly stature making Apollo seem slight in comparison. His eyes a furious green leered at all the other members surrounding the table.

"Artemis, goddess of the hunt and moon" the serious looking young woman stood up, but she was short compared to most of the gods. Her brown reddish hair was twined into a tight bun at the back of her head.

"Hermes, god of eloquence and luck" this man almost didn't look like a god at all, his ginger hair sticking up away from him in a windblown state that showed he had flew through the storm to get here tonight.

"Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy" her voice rang clear and confident in the throne room, standing up she was the tallest of all the goddess' and a few of the gods. Her long white robe cascaded around her in a flurry of ripples, a red sash attached to the shoulder that draped behind her and spread out as she rose from her seat. Her hair tumbled down to her waist, loose curls and waves that eased her serious face. Eyes as grey as the storm clouds outside, glared over at the boy across from her who hadn't broken the eye contact since he had sat down.

"Poseidon, god of the seas" he stood up in a fury of wet robes, sending water flitting all around him. His robes were as blue as his eyes, the dark black trident in his hand posed with a warning and a threat. His black damp hair dripped water onto his eyelashes and neck but was ignored completely by the god.

Zeus then stood as well and motioned for them all to sit, once they had returned to their seats he began pacing around the golden table. A thoughtful expression on his face, lips pursed and eyebrows brooding.

"We are all aware of why we were here tonight. To settle the patron of our great city once and for all. Greece is our most prized ground, her main city must have a name and patron. For it is our beloved jewel across the whole of the earth. Only one can be its patron, and none are worthy. Arise, those of you who beg to differ."

It was a call out, a question to the candidates present. There were only two who rose. Athena and Poseidon. Their eyes hadn't left each other's once the whole evening, equally furious expressions, only Athena's was less anger and more frustration.

The remaining gods studied each of their family, Poseidon was brutal, fearless and ruthless. He would be an excellent patron for the city. His bravery and determination would keep the city safe, while his gift of the seas would cause for excellent harvest and weather. The city would be fruitful and plenty.

Zeus appraised his older brother first. He held Poseidon in high regard, high above all else. But he was unsure of his loyalty to Greece. He preferred his kingdom under the sea rather than to reign with the gods, his interests were otherwise directed. The city would not be his main home, and so it would not be his first care.

"My brother, if anyone here is worthy of such glory, it would be you. However my bias is not favoured of the council. I would ask that you bestow upon me a gift, for your future city" he smiled, but not kindly. It was a challenge.

Poseidon raised an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth quirked up, "Indeed. You shall have your gift."

As soon as he had said this he struck the ground with his trident. An earth shattering boom resounded throughout the whole of Olympus. From the ground rose the makings of a well, large and dark. It's foundations running deep into the heart of the Ocean. The gods stared in awe at the new revolution, never before seen by anyone.

"What is it?" Apollo questioned his best friend, he stared curiously at the round cylinder stone.

Turning his gaze onto Apollo, Poseidon grinned, "A well. To supply the city with water and bounty. To establish health and hygiene for our beloved Greece. With this the city shall never thirst, and shall never hunger. I will pour forth all the creatures of the sea onto its doorstep. No finer city shall stand than that under my ruling."

A quiet applause was sounded from each member of the council, truly an impressive and well thought out gift. Nothing was expected less of Zeus' brother. Zeus himself nodded, a pleased smile on his face. Before he turned his gaze to the beauty on his opposite side.

"And you, my daughter, what would you offer such a glorious city?"

A small smile spread across her face, stepping away from the table she crouched low to the ground. "I would offer you glory, peace and fruit. For glory is only found on a city blessed by the gods. Peace can only be established by those willing to uphold it" she paused, her eyes flashing up to meet with Poseidon's for a brief moment, "and fruit. To sate the hunger of the world and bring sweetness to the bitter at heart."

As she spoke she dug a small hole in the ground with her hands, planting a small seed and recovering the ground again. As she stood up something began to spurt forth from the earth. At first roots and then the stalk, growing larger still until the small plant became a trunk and burst out spreading it's leaves. An apple tree stood, large and beautiful. A small white dove nestled in its branches, symbolizing purity and peace.

Zeus grinned, a pleased and respectful smile as he nodded his head. The rest of the gods clapped again politely. There was no doubt that Athena would make a inspiring patron. She was beautiful, so she could be loved. She was kind, so she could be merciful. She was serious and fair, so she would be a just goddess. And she was brilliantly wise, so the city would be forever in safe capable hands.

Poseidon glared at the offensive tree, its entirety insulting him completely. He then turned his eyes back onto the goddess herself. True, she was wise and beautiful. But she was a woman, and no woman should be granted the capital of Greece.

"Alas, it has been decided. Poseidon, return to your seat. For your well is bountiful and good, but it's water runs salty and would be of minimal use to the city. You kept the good water for your own kingdom, your selfishness was your downfall" Zeus pointed towards the empty throne, his tone final.

But Poseidon did not sit.

"From this day forth, let it be known to the world that our city is blessed with a name! Athens, in the name of her patron, Athena. May her wisdom and guidance watch over our precious land until the end of time."

Zeus raised his golden trident into the air, the thunder and rain ceased and though it was the middle of the night on earth, the sun itself broke forth from the clouds and shined down over Athens. A statue appearing in her centre, Athena. Rejoicing was heard from the city below and the gods themselves stood and rejoiced also. All but one.

While the celebrations continued, Poseidon slipped out the throne room and made his way out of Olympus. His robes were now completely dry, which seemed pointless as he was heading back for the ocean. Just as he was about to reach the main gateway he heard an all too familiar voice.

"Leaving so soon, I had hoped..." her voice faltered and failed. She remained quiet.

"You had hoped what, Athena?" he turned then to look at her, she looked glorious. It may be said that Aphrodite was the goddess of beauty, but not in his eyes.

They stared at one another, different from before. The glaring had only been due to their competition, the truth was that Athena was madly in love with Poseidon. Yet, he did not return that love. He appeared to care for her, but nothing with depth.

"I had hoped that perhaps you might wish to stay tonight, with me" she flushed faintly after she spoke and averted her gaze to the floor. Within a second he was in front of her, tipping up her chin. His bottle blue eyes bore into her frozen grey ones.

"Let me make myself quite clear, I do not wish to stay with you tonight, or any other night. Go and enjoy your celebrations, while you can. But know this, that your city will never have enough water to get by. Know that I curse the very land to be a drought, water shall be scarce and you shall be blamed. Know this, daughter of Zeus, and rejoice."

He pushed her away then and made for the gateway once more. Her voice called to him again, this time filled with anger and hate.

"Poseidon! Do not start a war in which you cannot win! I am not your enemy!" she glared at his retreating back and in a whisper said, "Did you not care for me at all?"

That seemed to freeze him in place, his back was rigid. His fingers clenched and unclenched around his trident before he said, "I do not care for you, not even a little, Athena."

Her shoulders slumped and she felt the wind knocked out of her, but she refused to cry. She thought of something terrible to say to him but before she could open her mouth to say it he hit her with, "No. I do not care for Athena at all. But I am quite in love with Tessa."

Hearing her earthly name from his lips made her eyes widen, she couldn't think of anything to reply to that. What was he saying? That he did not approve of her goddess status because it threatened his own place on the council? And yet, he was in love with her?

"William, in Olympus we shouldn't use those names" she said lamely before walking towards him and standing at his side. The names they were given were the names Zeus had blessed them with. Tessa was not his real daughter, but she had been blessed as Athena, and so she held that place in the family of the gods. Just as Will was not his brother, but he was second rank in the god head, and so was named Poseidon.

"Please, do not hate half of me" she gently grasped his chin turning his face towards hers. His eyes were as hard and fathomless as the seas.

"I do not hate you, I envy you. My distaste for you is only held bound by this kingdom. But not in mine."

Before she could say anything he pulled her closer towards him and raised his trident in the air, the sound of the waves echoed in her ears and clinking of shells. When she looked around Olympus was gone, the wide spread ocean surrounding her. She stood on a balcony of sorts, her robes now turned to the same blue as Will's. She pulled back to look at him. "Are we...?"

"Yes. This is my kingdom" he looked rather smug as he said it, his whole stance relaxing now that they were no longer held by the rules and laws of Zeus' kingdom. Though his brother was king of the heavens, he had no domain over the seas, this was entirely Will's. Sharing the earth was bad enough, he loved that down here he was his own ruler.

Pulling Tessa towards him he said, "Down here, you are not Athena and I am not Poseidon. We do not care about the world above the ocean floor, we do not care about Athens or Greece."

She smiled at that, relieved that the worry of him leaving her was gone. In Olympus she had thought he had not wanted her anymore. She had given him everything of herself, she would have been ashamed if he had cast her aside like that.

"No, you're Will. Mine. And you are all I care about."

He grinned, a crooked mischievous grin. "Good answer" he said before taking her in his arms. Her sweet lips against his was heaven, he could taste the apples from that tree she had grown. His own lips were soft and slightly salty, it was a pleasant feeling. How she could breathe under the depths of the seas was beyond her, but this was his kingdom, she supposed that he could do whatever he wanted down here.

As they kissed sweetly she felt something sat upon her head, pulling back slightly she glanced up. A crown of silver and sapphire was sat atop her head, fantastically ornate with pearls of the ocean lining it's rim. She reached to touch it but he caught her hand quickly and drew it to his lips.

"Tessa" though that was all he said, she knew it was a question. She nodded once and lifted his own hand and kissed the back of it as well. They smiled at one another coyly before he lifted her into his arms and carried her inside his home. The palace that stood at the bottom of the seas was a shining beacon. The silver walls glinted in the sunlight that reached under the water's surface, it was a bright jewel at the heart of the sea.

When he laid her down across his bed and climbed over her, she felt her heart accelerate as it always did when he came close. He lowered himself down and captured her lips with his own again, mumbling between kisses, "I'm still cursing Athens you know."

"I know" she murmured back and chuckled a bit, that was just so typical him. She let her hand come up and tangle into his dark hair. Surprisingly it wasn't wet, in fact nothing down here was wet. Not her clothes, the bed, him or any of it. She smiled against his mouth and got lost in his soft touches and sweet words.

He was right, Poseidon and Athena could never be together. But down in the seas, below the rippling waves, Tessa and Will **could** be.

* * *

_Something a bit different this time. So you know who Athena and Poseidon were, can you guess who the rest of the gods were? Clue: I stole one of them from TMI!_


	7. Let Me Teach You A Lesson

"_Do you catch a breath when I look at you? Are you holding back like the way I do? Cause I'm trying and trying to walk away, but I know this crush ain't going away..." —Crush, David Archuleta_

* * *

"Miss. Gray" he called out, looking around the classroom for the familiar brunette. He spotted her sitting in the middle row staring down at her lap. He almost smiled, almost. She was reading, he could tell from the way she moved her hand down towards her lap every few minutes to turn the page.

"Tess" he said a bit louder and her head snapped up this time, her cheeks immediately flushing with colour under his amused gaze.

"Yes, Sir?" she said a bit hesitantly and bit her lip. This was the third time she had been caught not paying attention in his class this week, she wondered if she was going to get a detention slip. It suddenly occurred to her that he had called her 'Tess', no one called her that. Sometimes Tessie or even some of the posh teachers called her Theresa, but never Tess.

"I take it then, that you are present? I called your name a few times Miss. Gray, in future do be so kind as to respond or I'll get into bother for marking you as absent" Will said, a light sense of fondness colouring his tone before his dark blue eyes flickered away from her and he began today's English lesson.

Tessa nodded once even though he wasn't looking anymore and felt embarrassed as the students around her whispered laughs to one another. The male on her left looked over at her and grinned pleasantly.

"Reading again?"

"Of course Jem, I hadn't finished the last chapter and I'm dying for the ending!" she chuckled quietly whispering back to him.

"Ahh. Then perhaps you ought to keep your excitement contained, I don't think Mr. Herondale is much in the mood to be lenient with you today" he smiled and leaned away focusing his gaze back on the front of the class.

Tessa smiled to herself as she followed his gaze, Jem was right but still, the book was so enthralling! She watched as Will moved around the class handing out study notes and when he reached her desk she put her hand out to take it. He smirked slightly and just before she could take it he pulled it back, quickly switching it and handing her one from the bottom of the pile, Tessa's eyebrows furrowed as she looked up at him.

"Sorry" he murmured before setting it on her desk and walking on, she looked after him confused before her eyes caught sight of a small print at the bottom of the page.

'Try to pay attention in class, wait behind at the end.' Tessa gulped and folded the piece of paper in half; she ought to have known there'd be punishment. She sighed quietly and looked at the board; she wondered what he might say to her.

_**After Class**_

"Alright, that's all for today. I want everyone's notes on chapter seven of Wuthering Heights tomorrow, no excuses. Miss. Gray" Will said, stopping Tessa's motions to quickly move out the door, she sighed and said a quiet goodbye to Jem before walking over to his desk. "Yes, Mr. Herondale?"

He waited until everyone had left the room before he loosened the tie at his neck and unbuttoned the top two buttons before collapsing into his desk chair. Tessa stood nervously at the side of his table, shifting her weight from her left to her right foot; he was fiddling with the papers on his desk when Tessa couldn't bare it anymore."I'm sorry Sir, but I really have to go, my mother will be—"

"Well you should have thought of that when you began reading during my lessons."

Tessa frowned, it was true she hadn't been paying attention this morning but that was before he had even begun the lesson at all. "Sir, not to be rude, but actually—"

"Don't answer me back" he interrupted her smoothly and smirked when she visibly bristled with annoyance at being cut off."My point is that you are clearly not focused this year Tess and honestly I think you're going to fall behind quickly if you don't pull your head out of the clouds and focus on your studies instead of those trashy novels you're so fond of."

His little speech unfortunately was wasted on Tessa, she wasn't sure what had taken her so long to notice it but it just hit her. Her English teacher was bloody hot! She could see his mouth moving but she wasn't listening to the words as her eyes moved over his face, down his neck and stopped on the opening of his shirt where his collar bone was just visible. Her knee's suddenly felt weak and she thought she might faint from the heat, suddenly she heard her name being called. No not her name, his name for her.

"Tess? Tess... Are you listening to me at all?" he eyed her curiously and watched as she seemed to come out of a daze before she nodded once, hot colour rising in her cheeks and he quickly glanced down at the desk."Yes Sir, I mean of course Sir. I-I-" she stammered and tried desperately to not notice the way his eyelashes fluttered when he looked up at her, she'd kill for eyes like that. She had the insane urge to kiss him and the thought shocked her so much she nearly fell backwards. Instead, she stumbled back and caught hold of the desk behind her.

Will's eyebrows shot up and he looked at her oddly, "Have you been drinking?"

"No of course not! I just slipped!"

"On what..."

Tessa stood up and fixed herself looking flustered, "I just did ok!" she snapped before grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. She had to get out of here now before she said or did something else to humiliate herself.

"I'm sorry Sir, I'll pay attention, and I won't read. I have to go now!" she span on her heel and headed for the door, just as she turned the handle he spoke up.

"No you're right, you won't. But you'll also be coming in for extra lessons during lunch and intervals. I won't have anyone failing my course. Understood?"

Tessa wanted to bang her head against the door, was he nuts? She just nodded once and ran out the door as fast as she could. When she was outside she spotted her mum waiting for her in the car, she sprinted over and climbed in the backseat.

"I'm sorry I'm late, the teacher was talking to me about extra homework."

"Oh... Are you not doing well honey?" her mother said while looking at her in the mirror, Tessa smiled slightly and shook her head.

"Just need a bit of help, that's all!"

She nodded and pulled out of the car park, Tessa sighed and leaned back against the soft leather seat of the car. How could she have been so blind? No wonder all the girls wanted to take English this year, she'd thought it was unusual that Jessamine had been so keen. All that girl was interested in was boys and sex. Which, made perfect sense now. Since Mr. Herondale was a boy, or man... And screamed sex appeal. She groaned annoyed with herself. What was she thinking? He was her teacher! That was sooooo wrong!

When she got home she dropped her book bag at the bottom of the stairs and walked up to her room flopping down on the bed and screaming into her pillow, 'God... I need help' she thought before rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling. Private lessons with quite possibly the hottest guy she'd ever met... Hell on earth.

_**The Following Day**_

When the bell rang signaling the end of fourth period Tessa blew her fringe out of her eyes, everyone else was heading to lunch. She on the other hand was heading to English. She was filled with a mixture of dread and excitement. Dread for anything she might do or say to scare Will, and excitement to get to listen to his husky voice as he read literature to her. Did it get any better than that?

Will pushed through the bust corridors as the students hustled past him heading for the dinner halls, he frowned at how annoying it was to try and go against the movement of the crowd but then realised that not long ago he had been part of the very same type of crowd. Being a twenty-one year old teacher was hard going, a lot was expected from someone who had the brains to get a teaching degree by the time he was nineteen and then a masters at twenty. A lot of persuading had gone into him getting this job and he had to prove he was up to standard, which was exactly why he was making sure no one in his year was failing his course.

As he reached the door to his classroom he pulled out the keys and unlocked the door, as he was about to push it open he heard a silky smooth voice call to his attention.

"Mr. Herondale?"

Will scowled to himself before he looked to his side seeing a young pretty blonde girl. His eyebrows pulled together, he was pretty sure she wasn't part of his class.

"Yes?" he said a bit impatiently.

Jessamine smiled and flicked one of her long blonde ringlets over her shoulder before letting her eyes rake over his strong frame. He was better in person than the photo's she'd got hold of from the staff records. All lean and muscular, and completely dressed in black. She wet her lips before speaking.

"Sir, I don't think you know me but I actually applied for your course this session. But due to small numbers I wasn't successful, I was hoping you could maybe..." she made an act of looking shy, "fix it?"

Will wanted to sigh in frustration; this wasn't any of his damn business! Not only that... This girl was a bit all over the place, and didn't look like the typical English student he was used to seeing. No, she looked exactly like the type of girl he was used to dating. Short skirt, tight top and a perfect little hour-glass frame. But he had no interest in her whatsoever, and he certainly didn't have time to stand around and watch as she flipped her hair and shimmied her hips.

"Your name, Miss?"

"Jessamine Lovelace."

Will nodded once and opened the door halfway, "Well Miss. Lovelace, I suggest you go find someone who cares. Because you've got the wrong guy" and with that he brushed her off and heading through the door. Jessamine stood there a little surprised, she wasn't used to being told 'no'. She bit her lip pondering this for a moment before shrugging and heading down the corridor. A slight smirk spreading across her lips, 'Hotter than I expected. And mean? Jack-pot."

She really ought to have been paying attention to where she was walking though.

Tessa came skidding around the corridor; she was going to be late if she didn't get a move on. She'd been caught up talking to Jem and explaining why they couldn't go out for lunch like they'd planned to do. Jem wasn't her boyfriend, but the whole school acknowledged their friendship as being not quite romantic, but definitely something sparking there. Tessa saw Jessamine a second before it was too late and quickly moved to the side, banging her shoulder against a locker and nearly sending her crashing onto the floor. She grabbed hold of Jessamine's arm to steady herself, "I'm so sorry!"

Jessamine gave a shout when she grabbed her and quickly pulled her arm back to her side, "What the hell are you doing to clumsy little shit!"

Tessa's eyes widened and she looked at her a bit shocked; her mother had always said it was distasteful for a woman to swear. And she was right; it sounded awful coming from Jessamine and made her seem half as less attractive as she might've thought her on a different day.

"I said sorry, there's no need to get so annoyed about it."

"Do you know how much this top cost? Oh wait, no, of course you don't" she sneered at her, though it was pointless, Tessa really wasn't interested in her bitchy comments. She fixed her own top into place before giving the fakest smile she could and saying, "You're right, I don't. Nor do I care, bye now!"

Jessamine looked after her as she sprinted down the hall and came to a stop in front of Will's classroom, her eyebrows went up as Tessa walked through and she heard a faint, "About damn time Tess."

Tess? He called her Tess? Jessamine glanced around the empty hallway before walking to the small glass window on the door and secretly peeking in to have a look. Tessa was taking her books out and Will came over to sit on the edge of her desk with a book in his hand also. It seemed like a pretty ordinary thing, extra lessons maybe? But Jessamine couldn't shake the weirdness of a teacher calling her 'Tess'. She stood outside the door, hidden from view and decided to stick around to listen in for a bit.

"Do you enjoy wasting my time?"

Tessa sighed as she sat her book on the table, "No. I got held up, I'm sorry."

"In future do leave your appointments open for me, or shall I make a booking?" Will spoke sarcastically and he flipped open his book to the chapter they were currently working on in class.

"What is it with people today? I said I'm sorry!" she snapped at him, and then immediately felt like an idiot for doing so. He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow; she blushed and looked down at her lap. He was the teacher, she was the student, and she was going to have to keep reminding herself that. He was just so young looking that she often forgot she wasn't speaking to her friend or classmate.

"You did. But sorry isn't good enough" she looked up at him as he spoke getting ready to explain everything and apologise again, when she noticed him smirking at her. He was teasing her? She felt her blood boil under his amused expression and it took everything in her to bite her tongue and just nod.

The rest of the time seemed to run pretty smoothly, he asked her questions on various passages and she explained them easily having an in-depth understanding of the book and characters. Will frowned to himself, he knew now that Tessa didn't actually need any help at all. In fact, she was sure to pass with flying colours. He shut his book with a light snap and pushed himself off her desk walking to his own to drop the book on it. At least he'd have one less thing to worry about then.

Tessa gathered her notes together and placed them inside her bag before standing up and pushing her chair under the desk, "Are we finished Sir, can I go?"

Will nodded and walked over to the door opening it for her, Jessamine had left long ago when the scenes from within the classroom had bored her and she lost interest.

Tessa smiled at the gesture and heard her brain whisper, 'Oh would you look at that, handsome and charming. You should just walk up to him and—" she stopped her thoughts before they ran away with her. He was looking at her a bit impatiently now and all previous thoughts of him being in any way princely vanished. She hurriedly walked over to him and as she was going out the classroom she turned to say thank you but caught her foot on the rim of the door and tumbled forwards.

It happened very fast and one moment the ground had been swooping up to meet her and the next she was pressed very tightly to something warm and wonderful smelling. She blinked a few times before her gaze met with bottle blue orbs and anything she'd been thinking to say died on her lips as she just stared up at him.

Will had been caught off guard when she suddenly fell and without thinking had reach out and caught her, he had been about to make a snarky comment on her brain not being attached to earth but had got a bit sidetracked on the way she was now staring at him. Her grey eyes were wide with shock and he could see the small flecks of black around the irises of them, while her lips were slightly parted as though she were about to speak but lost her words. His gaze settled there, noticing what an attractive colour of pink they were. And as soon as he thought this, he knew he had to let her go quickly.

"Are you alright?" he said, a bit huskier than usual as he set her upright and took a step away from her. Tessa nodded once, she couldn't trust her voice not to wobble. He nodded back and they just looked at each other silently before Will said, "Same time tomorrow then" and pushed the door closed walking back to his desk.

Tessa stood in the hall for a moment longer than necessary before she slowly walked down the hallway and out into the school grounds. Jem spotted her and smiled widely walking over and easily putting an arm around her waist, "Good lesson?"

"Huh? What?" she looked up at him and then flushed at being caught day-dreaming, "Oh yes, yes it was very... Interesting."

Jem nodded and pulled her over to a table pushing a small box towards her, "I hope you don't mind, I bought you lunch. I thought you might be hungry."

Tessa smiled fondly at him and opened the box, "Thanks Jem. I'm starving."

That was a total lie, she couldn't even think about eating. Her brain was working overtime in trying to remember the exact shade of blue around the pupil of Will's eyes. Something between midnight blue and navy she thought. Jem noticed her lack of conversation but didn't comment, leaving her to her thoughts.

When she had managed to eat at least half of the lunch he had bought her she pushed the box away from her smiling up at him, "Thanks again, sorry I didn't manage to eat it all.."

"That's alright, I know girls are always thinking of their weight and such, but Tessa you are quite lovely. Such rules really ought not to apply to you."

Tessa grinned at him, Jem was always so polite. So kind, considerate, thoughtful, well-mannered... And a tad boring. She truly did care for him, and she thought he was undeniably handsome. He'd been nominated for Homecoming last year even though he wasn't really a senior. The voting polls though weren't allowed due to his age but it was certain that he'd win it this year. Tessa really didn't care for those kinds of things, and honestly she would bet her soul that Jessamine or one of her posy would be clawing to get it. They could fight over it, she didn't want it.

"So, I was thinking..."

Tessa blinked and pushed her thoughts away listening to him, "Yeah?"

"Well..." he looked a little awkward before he glanced back up at her, his cheeks slightly flushed. You... You like me, right Tessie?"

"Of course I do Jem."

Jem frowned, he could tell by the innocent look on her face she had no idea where he was going with this."Good. So then you'd have no reason to turn me down for a date then?" he kept a straight face as he spoke but his heart was hammering against his chest so hard he wondered if she might hear it.

Tessa opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again. She had known he was going to ask sooner or later, everyone told her that he liked her; everyone said they were the perfect couple—everyone except her. She bit her lip and thought it over; would a date really do any harm? She could sort out how she felt about him, set him straight and then they could both move on from it. 'Besides, you might like it' she thought, 'how often does a little bookworm get asked out by a hot guy everyone likes? Uh, never! You dingbat, say yes!

'She nodded then, a bright smile covering her face and lighting up her eyes, "Sure! Why not?"

Jem sighed audibly and she laughed at him, he gave a sheepish smile and pushed his silver hair out of his eyes. A gesture that Tessa thought was highly attractive, especially when Mr. Herondale raked through his dark—she cut herself off again feeling ridiculous and when she flushed Jem looked at her confused.

"What is it?"

"N-nothing! I'm just so flattered you asked" she lied smoothly, 'liar liar' her mind sung to her.

"Well you shouldn't be... I think the whole student body is waiting on us making it official."

Tessa froze, what did he just say? He asked for a date, that was all, she was sure of it! She decided to not correct him just yet; after all, she might want to make it official depending on how the date turned out.

"So where are you taking me?" she took a sip of her drink looking at him.

Jem smiled slightly, he was pleased that she seemed somewhat eager for it. He'd been planning to ask her after school, but she'd probably get held behind in English again so he'd just gone for it now. Though, he'd had their date planned for like the past two years since he'd met her.

"I thought I'd take you to that little beach bistro at north side? Then maybe we could go see a movie or go for a walk down the beach, whatever you prefer?"

She smiled again, 'Nice. A bit cliché, but nice effort.' Tessa felt bad as soon as she thought this, what had she been expecting, a visit to China? She rolled her eyes at herself and then laughed when Jem looked a bit insulted.

"Sorry, that wasn't to you. That was to me. Yeah that sounds lovely, I think I vote beach walk over movie. Nothing really in the cinema I want to see at the moment."

Jem nodded, "Then that's what we'll do."

As he said this the bell rang and everyone got up heading back in for the last two classes of the day. Being the gentleman that he was, Jem carried Tessa's book bag and walked her all the way to the door of her maths classroom. She smiled and took the bag from him, and then waited for him to leave. He didn't though, he looked a little embarrassed and then leaned down to quickly peck her cheek before saying, "I'll call you" and quickly walking off in the other direction.

Tessa flushed and stared after him, noticing that he had gone in the opposite direction of his history class. She smiled at this and touched her cheek, 'That was daring. Perhaps we underestimated him...' she grinned then shaking her head to herself and walking in to take her seat.


	8. Beyond The Stars

_Can we see beyond the stars, and make it to the dawn? – What About Now, Westlife_

* * *

Will stared up at the heavens; the bright points of light from the stars promising direction and reason. Greater meaning than simply what they seemed to be. He could find no reason within himself though. How could he? What was the point in trying to find more depth to yourself when the only thing that had grounded you and made you want to believe in something better had been snatched away?

He dropped his gaze, his head hanging low letting the dark tangles of his hair fall across his dark blue eyes. As a shadowhunter he had suffered more pain than most people would think was possible to survive, but nothing hurt quite like this did.

It was a pain that burned harder than any demon poison, itched worse than any rash, clouded the mind worse than any head cold and ached worse than any physical strain. Not only that, it had spread faster than any disease or virus and—to his knowledge—had no cure.

He had been totally unprepared for its vicious attack on his soul and had no time to defend against the onslaught of feelings that it evoked within him. It hurt. It hurt so much that at times he could barely breathe. What made it worse was that he knew that no matter what he did he would never be able to fix it, because it wasn't his to fix.

Tessa.

Her name had always had an odd effect on him.

Just speaking it made him feel out of breath, like all the air around him had been removed and he was just left with nothing. Even with all of that, all that grief and pain, he had no one but himself to blame for his situation. Perhaps it would have been easier if he had been able to pin the blame elsewhere, have someone to hate for making him have to deal with this—but he had done it.

When Will considered his reasons for why he had forced himself into this he could find no fault in anyone else. Every choice he had made he had done so willingly; he had pushed her away, he had hurt her, he had made her feel nothing for him, he had loved her and now he could never have her.

'People would normally cry right about now', he thought to himself bitterly. As much as he might feel like he should cry, he couldn't seem to manage to do it. He cursed under his breath, could he not have any sort of release from this?

If he could have had anything in that moment he would have had her, just standing beside him. Or maybe even that moment over; the moment there were both standing here and he threw all of her words back in her face. If he had only known, just known that the curse wasn't real and that he could love her all he wanted, he would have done it. She would have been his.

Will's fists clenched around the railing and he felt something wet hit his cheek. For a moment he had a feeling of success, he had managed to cry! But then another droplet fell on the end of his nose and he looked up as rain began to fall.

"At least someone managed it," he muttered in a dry tone. Now that it had started to rain, Will realized the stars were no longer visible at all. He could still see the moon though, the single point of light in the black sky.

Maybe that was what he was like, the rain. He had been cold and covering up who he was for so long it was hard to even decipher who William Herondale actually was at all. But the moon was still there, even in the darkest of nights it was still there. Perhaps then, so was he. Whoever 'he' was, perhaps he hadn't got lost at all—but just hidden by the rain.

Will raised his hand and ran it through his wet hair, pushing it back out of his eyes. At least Jem would be happy. If anything, he was just glad that his brother would be able to feel love from the best girl. It didn't help, but it was something at least.

He headed back inside the institute then. He was thoroughly soaked and his combat boots squeaked slightly with his every step. It was late though and no one was going to hear him. He decided to take the longer route to his room so that he could walk past Tessa's dorm on the way. As he walked he imagined various scenario's of him just going into her room and waking her up, just speaking to her for a time and enjoying her company.

He smiled a little as the story rolled out in his mind, but as he walked past Tessa's door he heard her sobbing. It was clear heartbroken sobs. He felt his feet freeze where he stood as he just listened. The thought to go in now was far more compelling, to go and comfort her.

'That's not your job…' he reminded himself. He pressed his hand against the door and stood there for a moment longer before he dragged himself away from there. She wouldn't know he'd been there, she would never know how hard it was for him to just leave and close his own bedroom door. He walked to his book shelf and took out the copy of 'A Tale of Two Cities' and looked at the letter he had written. He tore it in half.

She was not his, she was his brother's.

He sat down on his bed then and put his head in his hands. He had made the mistake of a lifetime; and now he was going to have to live with it.


	9. After Dark

_"The big, big bang. The reason I'm alive, when all the stars collide, in this universe inside." - The Big Bang, Rock Mafia_

* * *

Tessa pulled the bedroom door shut quietly, holding the handle down longer than necessary so that it would not squeak under the pressure. She smiled to herself at a job well done and made her way towards the spiral staircase that led to the floors below. As she descended, she couldn't help but look around at her still somewhat new, beautiful home.

The move to Wales had taken some time and the house was still not completely as it should be, but the general rooms were together and it was more decorating and living that the large manor home needed now.

As she came to the landing below, Tessa took a moment to remember what was on this level of the house and then proceeded towards the large door at the end of the hall, only to be welcomed by a burning fire and her Will buried amongst their towering shelves of books. She smiled at the sight of him, not reading for once but instead standing before the large wooden frames and organising the books from the boxes at his feet into categories.

From her view point at the threshold of the door, she could see his entire frame, watch as the muscles under his shirt shifted and pulsed with his every movement. Tessa bit into the flesh of her lower, fuller lip, not able to merely stand and watch him any longer. He was so absorbed in his task that he did not even hear her as she approached, not aware of her presence until her arms wrapped around his waist from behind and pulled him close.

She felt him startle slightly, and then instantly relax, his hands coming up his stomach to lay over hers. Tessa heard him chuckle, and then in an instant her had turned and his arms were around her too, firelight bouncing between their gazes as they smiled at one another.

"Are they asleep?" he asked softly, tenderness seeping into his tone as he spoke of his two little children.

"They are," she breathed, leaning even more into him, "James took a while longer because he was determined to have two stories tonight, which of course kept Lucie awake as all the noise of his protests was rather a bit too much to be ignored. What a boisterous boy we have, I wonder where he gets that from, hm?"

Will's grin flashed into view, a cheeky and proud look to it and Tessa did not doubt at all that he was glad his son was following in his wayward father's footsteps. Tessa was rather pleased about it too really, but more so because James did seem a bit more controllable than Will ever was.

Still looking pleased with himself, Will said, "He is only four Tess, he may still grow out of it, but where would be the fun in that?"

She scowled, only to repress the smile that was threatening at the corners of her lips. There was a book still in Will's hand, she could feel it pressed against her lower back as he held her. Sliding her hands up onto his arms, she followed his bare skin from where it appeared at his rolled up sleeves, tracing her finger tips down and behind her own back until she could feel his hands.

Plucking the book from his grasp, she gently dropped it on top of the stack beside them, her eyes never once leaving his. The blue seemed to have darkened as she had touched him; the softness growing sharper and fierce with heat. Yet he did not move, letting her do whatever she liked with him, allowing her to lead the way. Tessa grinned and smoothed her hands back up his forearms and onto his biceps.

Through his thin shirt she could feel the heat of his skin, see the inked marks that lined and completed him. She stared up at him, blinking slowly and letting her lashes flutter in a way he had once complimented her about. Being with Will was never repetitive, never the same. Every touch, every quiet moment alone was rediscovering the true meaning of _adoration_. Passion. Lust. Love. As though he could feel it too, she heard him inhale quietly, his body tensing ever so slightly before he eased once more.

"You're taunting me" he said quietly, his voice husky and full of suppressed desire. It made her spine tingle, her toes curling against the soft carpet. The air felt tight between them, building with pressure and stifling tension.

Tessa smirked faintly and leaned up on her toes to press her mouth over his, but merely pressed, skin on skin without movement. Then she spoke against him, her lips curving with her smile, "And what if I am?"

Will shuddered. The feel of it, running from his chest to her own, was so delicious she could not help but sigh against his lips. Then he moved, their bodies a blur of motion as Will turned them about and pressed Tessa up against the shelves half filled with books. She was laughing quietly, exhilarated and giddy from his eagerness.

In a rather menacing tone he said, "We'll see if you're laughing in a minute." His hands caught at her wrists, drawing them up above her head and pinning them there, his hips against her own and caging her with his body. Giving her no time to respond or even attempt to go against him, he claimed her mouth, massaging his lips almost aggressively against her own.

Tessa felt her bones turn to limp sponge, melting against him and into him. She could do nothing but kiss him back, her body suddenly flooded with heat that spread from the pit of her stomach outwards. "_Will_" she breathed, a warning in her voice. This was not exactly the time or place to be fooling around, the entire room was a mess about them of boxed books, their children sleeping on the floor above could wake up any moment if they were too loud.

He either did not hear her, or did not care - she assumed the latter - for his hold did not let up, the pressure of his lips only intensifying. The room blurred and fell away; worries, sensibility and thoughts of anything but Will suddenly gone. She heard a moan, realising too late that it had been her own, and knew he had won.

Letting go of her wrists, his hands followed the shape of her arms down to her shoulders, passing over her chest and the swell of her breasts to her curving waist and further still to her hips. He caught at the wad of fabric by her thighs, dragging it up suddenly and causing Tessa to make a startled noise in the back of her throat.

Then he had lifted her, drawing her legs about his waist as he pushed her back even harder against the shelves. Her dress bunched between them as he greedily palmed over the soft skin behind her knees. It was all happening at once and Tessa was certain they might not even make it to getting undressed if he carried on this way.

A crack sounded from behind Will, the squeak of a door. Tessa peered over his shoulder and her cheeks flushed to a shocking red against her pale pallor.

"Mam," a little voice said, black wavy locks falling into sleepy amber eyes.

Will had tensed at the sound of his son, and he too was now glancing back to see James standing in his little blue sleep-suit. He stayed where he was, trying to conserve what he could of Tessa's modesty.

"James, its bedtime. Go back upstairs," he said, his voice not as sure as he would have liked it. The little boy simply stared at his parents, the look on his face still somewhat drowsy and confused. He nodded, the black mop of his hair shaking, before he began to close the door over once more.

"Ne'night" he called and silence ensued as they both listened for the sound of his footsteps retreating back up the stairs.

A mutual sigh passed between them, and then they were both smiling. That had been a little too close. Smiles became laughter, their foreheads leaning together as they enjoyed their moment of embarrassment. James had a habit of wandering in at the worst moments, but at least he was young, and they were always somewhat presentable.

Pressing a kiss to her warm cheeks, Will said, "I may need to invest on locks on the doors, or at least ours. And in here. Maybe the dining room too."

Smacking his arm, Tessa laughed. "And the training room," she added, just to watch his eyes go wide.

"An excellent notion, Mrs Herondale," his tongue caressed her name in the most intimate manner and he pressed his chest to hers, noses brushing as his lips hovered inches from her own.

Skimming his thumb over the side of her thigh, he pushed the material of her dress higher, "Now, where were we?"


	10. Rainy Day Activities

_The rain is falling on my window pane but we are hiding in a safer place. Under covers staying dry and warm, you give me feelings that I adore. - Bubbly, Colbie Caillat_

* * *

Will poked his head around the door of the library and let his blue eyes rake over the furniture and shelves. "Tess?" he called into what appeared to be the empty room. Sliding his lean body around the frame he entered and let the heavy wooden door close behind him.

"I know you are in here" he called louder, a smile in his voice as he strode past each aisle. Glancing down between the stacks of books, he searched for the signs of her brown wavy locks, her light blue day dress or the curious grey of her eyes.

Frowning, he was about to give up and search elsewhere, when Tessa came out from nowhere and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Gotcha!" she shouted, her chin resting on his shoulder, hot breath tickling his ear. He had stiffened under her touch, but as his hands came up to cover her own on his abdomen, he relaxed.

"Indeed, you have." He turned in her grip and caught her up in his own arms, lifting her the remaining two inches she needed to be on par with him. Will grinned as his nose bumped the end of hers. "I'm not sure I like this game of hide and seek, are you sure it is a popular mundane game?"

With a roll of her eyes, she said, "I'm sure. You only do not like it because you are no good at it. Even with silence runes, your imagination for hiding is no good at all. But if you no longer wish to play…"

Her expression seemed to dim, the light in her excited eyes starting to fade. Will squeezed her waist softly in an attempt to stop her downward spiral and quickly countered her words, "Not at all! Perhaps, we could play another game instead?"

"What game?" she asked, smiling brightly once more.

A throaty chuckle escaped Will as he sat her down on the solid floor, opting for taking her hand as he pulled her out of the library behind him. He led her through the empty halls of the institute and explained, "We are all alone for the day, and such an occasion comes rarely - I assure you. In such times, it is best to make the most of it, wouldn't you say?"

Tessa was stumbling behind him, attempting to keep pace but his excited bouncy steps would not be matched. "I suppose so," she mumbled, rather confused. He was leading her up the staircase towards his own bedroom, and a feeling of unease took root in her stomach with every step.

"Will, I don't think—" she cut herself off as he pushed open his bedroom door, letting go of her hand and marching over to his bed. To her surprise, he did not get on it, but instead began stripping it of its sheets and pillows.

When the linen was covering the floor and the mattress was bare, Will hoisted it off the metal frame and dragged it towards where Tessa stood in the entryway. "Watch yourself," he warned, and she stood aside to let him pass.

He had slight difficulty getting it out the door, but soon enough he had managed it through and was sitting it down at the top of the staircase. Will turned to her; hand extended in offering and the most childish grin that she had ever seen him wear.

"What exactly do you expect us to do with that?" Tessa demanded, a small laugh bubbling at the end of her question.

"Well I know what you were expecting me to do with it," he joked with a playful wink, "but actually, I thought we would play one of my favourite games. I used to play this with my sisters on rainy days. Come here, I'll show you."

He once again offered his hand towards her, and this time she walked forward and took it. His hand was soft and warm against her own, familiar and pleasant. She smiled at him, her cheeks slightly flushed from his earlier jibe.

Will helped Tessa climb onto the mattress and sit down, the end of it dangling over the edge of the steps. He then sat down behind her, his legs on either side of hers and his arms around her waist. "Now I'm going to push us forward in a minute, if you want to hold onto the mattress I suggest you do so now."

Tessa barely had time to nod before she felt herself sliding downwards, Will's arms tightening around her as he called out in glee. The polished steps were the perfect slope and the mattress flew down it like rushing water. Tessa heard herself squeal as her fingers dug into the material beneath her hands. And then it was over.

Will was laughing behind her, his chest bumping against her back with his every chuckle. She stared around her wondering what had just happened, she had thought she was flying at one point, and a smile took her features.

"Shall we do it again?" she asked excitedly, clambering up to stand beside Will, who was already getting set to go again.

"Of course. And we have many courses to choose from: there's the rickety shoot down to Henry's lab, the main stairway which is the longest and the curve ball case that leads to the kitchen."

They grinned at one another, each taking a side of the mattress and lifting it up as they moved down the hall, arguing at what one they should try first. For the remainder of the afternoon, their voices and laughter echoed around the institute.

When Charlotte returned in the evening she was shocked to find Will and Tessa sprawled in the foyer. The two were lying upon a mattress at the end of the staircase; curled up amongst each other like children, and fast asleep.


End file.
